Norilsk Nickel, ... is the world's largest producer of both
nickel and palladium. It made more than $2bn net profit in the first
half of last year alone and company officials told us there is
enough ore in the mines around Norilsk to keep them in business for
at least another 30 years.

Someone really needs to do an assessment of the environmental costs
of some of the "environmental" solutions we've come up with. .. in
economics those are called either secondary or usually tertiary
costs... lots of journal articles out there incorporating those costs
wren.... but business, through politics, as we know it only ignores
all that as 'clutter' and consequently the rape of the 'commons'
continues :-(

{3} " ... in economics those are called either secondary or usually
tertiary costs... "
Also, there is the term "externalized" costs. Not all of externalized
costs can reasonably be given a monetary enumeration, which means
that economism is a false premise. The premise of economism is that
value may be measured, entirely, in monetary terms.

I believe this may be an example of externality--it's a copy of an e-
mail I just sent to Mother Earth News referencing a promotional
product they're using for Earth Day:

Dear Mother Earth,

How does a plastic earthball help the planet? Plastic is one of the
largest problems facing the environment--it's made from coal or oil
derivatives and decomposes slowly. It also clogs landfills and ends
up accidentally in waterways.

Where are these earthballs made? I'm guessing overseas, probably
China. How is the pollution generated in the manufacturing and
shipping of these balls earth-friendly?

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican farmers are setting ablaze fields of
blue agave, the cactus-like plant used to make the fiery spirit
tequila, and resowing the land with corn as soaring U.S. ethanol
demand pushes up prices.

The switch to corn will contribute to an expected scarcity of agave
in coming years, with officials predicting that farmers will plant
between 25 percent and 35 percent less agave this year to turn the
land over to corn.

"Those growers are going after what pays best now," said Ismael
Vicente Ramirez, head of agriculture at Mexico's Tequila Regulatory
Council.

The large, spiky-leaved agave thrives on high, arid land and can
take eight years to reach maturity. To remove the plants, growers
cut them at their stems and often burn the fields to remove the
roots.

Tequila, drunk in shots and cocktails around the world, is named
after a town in the western Mexican state of Jalisco.